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The decision of the state education department to scrap Class 12 exams for the current batch has invoked mixed reactions from students, parents and educators. While students and parents felt the move has calmed anxious students who were worried about the status of their exams in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic, higher education institutes feel the lack of a common exam to gauge the merit of students will create difficulty at the time of admission.
“Students opting for professional courses will have to appear for an all-India common entrance exam to be able to seek admissions. This, however, is not the case with admissions to state universities. We will wait for the government to give us clear directions on how to conduct admissions for undergraduate degree courses, which we will then share with affiliated colleges,” said an official from the University of Mumbai.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra government decided to cancel Class 12 state board exams and an in-principle decision was taken in the state cabinet meeting after most of the ministers supported the move considering serious concerns over health and safety of the students. The state school education department on Wednesday moved a proposal to the state disaster management authority headed by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to take the final decision, officials said. A formal announcement is expected after the nod by the authority.
The move comes a day after the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) scrapped their respective Class 12 exams due to the ongoing pandemic.
In case of professional courses, including medicine, engineering, architecture and law, all aspirants compulsorily appear for state-conducted or all-India common exams to be eligible for admissions. Admissions to most professional courses are based solely on the scores of the entrance exam. However, admissions to state universities depend on Class 12 marks, and principals feel that with no board exam, this process will face hurdles.
Last month, in a meeting of city college principals with state school education minister Varsha Gaikwad, principals had suggested holding a common entrance test for all Class 10 students to gauge their merit, especially since these students have not appeared for exams in Class 9 and 10. “While such a common exam will be difficult to conduct for Class 12 students, there will need to be a common platform to ensure parity at the time of giving admissions,” said Neha Jagtani, principal of RD National College, Bandra.
She added that admission to undergraduate degree college courses across the state is based solely on Class 12 marks, and with no mark sheet in hand, merit-based admission will face problems. “It is important for the government to ensure that whatever they decide, the students from different boards and branches (commerce, science, arts and vocational training) are graded at parity,” added Jagtani.
Several autonomous colleges affiliated with the University of Mumbai had managed to conduct preliminary and internal unit exams for Class 12 students in the past few months. “We conducted unit tests as well as preliminary exams in both online and physical forms to ensure our students are prepared for an exam. With the Class 12 exams scrapped, we are hoping the government will allow us to hold entrance exams at least. Without a common base, it’ll be difficult to admit students to degree courses,” said Ancy Jose, principal of Nagindas Khandwala Autonomous College, Malad.
Parents and students have been using various social media platforms to share their anxiety over the constant postponement of exams and the lingering ambiguity. “We’ve been preparing for Class 12 exams as well as other all-India common entrance tests for the past two years and are finally relieved to hear that the government has scrapped one exam. We can now focus on the entrance exams henceforth,” said Anvay Kalekar, a Class 12 student who is preparing for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
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